Press and Publications

Iraq is at a fragile crossroads, making it more important than ever that the international community support Iraqi civil society’s efforts to protect human rights.

This report describes human rights violations committed by the Government of the United States against asylum seekers who are fleeing gender-based violence (GBV).

This report, published in advance of the review of Colombia’s human rights record by the UN Committee on the Elimination of of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) at its 72nd Session, documents human rights violations committed against Afro-Colombian women and their communities, and makes concrete recommendations for change.

The UN General Assembly is going to receive a new draft treaty on crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, the new draft uses an outdated definition of gender that would give some governments an excuse to ignore persecution of women and LGBTIQ people. This new treaty is a historic opportunity to address egregious crimes and enhance state efforts to prevent and punish gender-based crimes. However, a text that fails to reflect the current human rights definition of gender could sideline women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons; and other marginalized groups. It could also result in even greater impunity for gender-based crimes amounting to crimes against humanity. 

This report, published in advance of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women pre-sessional review of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's human rights record in November 2018, documents human rights violations against women and girls, including threats to and violations of their gender-based human rights and participation in peace building efforts, particularly in the eastern provinces of the country. This report informs the Committee's creation of the List of Issues that will be posed to the Government of the DRC before the official hearing in 2019.

We, the undersigned nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are writing to express our grave concern about the manner in which the Government of Iraq is carrying out prosecutions of ISIS fighters. 

This report, published in advance of the UN Human Rights Council’s review of Colombia’s human rights record in May 2018, documents human rights violations against Afro-Colombian Peoples and communities, including threats to and violations of their gender-based human rights.

In summer 2017, the International Law Commission, a UN body dedicated to developing international legal standards, completed its first reading of the draft articles for a new convention on crimes against humanity, which members of the General Assembly’s Sixth Committee (on legal questions) reviewed in fall 2017. While the current treaty draft embraces strong language from the Rome Statute, including gender as a protected class from persecution, it also adopts its unusual footnote defining gender.

A few weeks ago, an armed group raided a women’s shelter operated by the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), the only Iraqi organization that has stepped up to meet the critical need for shelter for women at risk of violence. Men armed with assault rifles kidnapped a member of their staff and held him for ransom, and forced OWFI to negotiate for his release. OWFI and other local organizations need protection now for their work meeting the urgent needs of women and girls at risk of violence.

Despite the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Iraq, outside of Kurdistan it remains against the law for Iraqi NGOs to provide shelter to those escaping gender-based violence.